Black-out lamp



y 1943- H. w. BARNES BLACKQUT LAMP Filed March 9, 1942 R Y m w N R w m m5 M y! M 0. HM Y B 3 2 w u a IJ m/ Patented July 27, 1943 UNITED .JSTATES" J If 12,325,2 1er.

f l LA M Harry WfBarnes, Beverly Hills, Calif. ppli ation March 9, 1 42r l8J No; 433,903"

lfllaim. (Cl. 2404 1) 1 My invention e at s. en rall t l mbs ada ted to direct light in a manner such that itwill suflicient y i lum a par icular, are w th being visible to unauthorized persons, and rnpre particularly to a lamp of this character which can be installed onthe forwar d portion of ave hicle so that sumcient light w l e av l e fo driving purposes without the light being visible at any distance from the vehicle. t h

There are many instances, particularly in modern Warfare, where it is absolutely essential to be able to operate a motor vehicle complete darkness and with a certaindeg ree of rapidity. In some instances, the travel will haveto be over rough terrain not previously traveled buit inmost cases it will be over a'road or some other route previously'traveled. If the road is well defined, the driver can successfully guide his vehicle if he is able to see the edge of the road; 'or in the case of a highway, the' center stripe, or in other instances, by following ruts'in the road. If there is no danger of meeting other vehicles traveling from the opposite direction, a relatively small amount of light suffices to guide the driver if it is properly placed. v

Army maneuvers and civilian experience during blackouts have both demonstrated-that it is necessary for moving vehicles to have some light in order to operate without damage to the equiprnent and loss of life. It has furtherbeen dem-' onstrated that blue light, while not visible at intensi y whereby a y n t able lineof divisio 3. betweenlieht andadow lim te n h r ure-p ven i n-mid ets the fact that the amount of,light-availahlefor use may be easily and uickly varied to suit changing conditions,

- Th se and othe objects and advant g of my inven n w l become app rent om he wingdescriptionof a, preferred form'ther eof together with the accompanying drawing, in which: 1 is a perspeotiveview of a blackout lamp attached to the forward portionof an army r t Fig. 2 is atop planof-said lamp,

Fig. 3 is aside elevational section, and V v Fig ;{l, isa rear elevation'of the lampi l; i p R e in new o the dra ng a d part ularly toFig, 2" thereof, the numeral Ill indicates the base of a hood, through which a lampsocket ll extends which is adapted to support electric bulb l2v within the hood. vIn this form of my invention, the lamp housing or hood is shaped generally as the frustum ofla pyramid, althoi gh ity/ill be understoodofcourse thatv variation's in this shape .are. possible without changing] the function. .Extending forwardlyand downwardly from the base H1 is a forwardwall l3 and a side 1 wall 14' which make a substantial angle with the such a great distance as White light, is completely unsatisfactory for army maneuvers during blackout conditions. It has likewise been proven that the so-called cats eye type of headlight is in many instances visible for a considerable disstance, and in many cases enables the enemy to successfully locate moving vehicles which are supposed to be traveling in secrecy.

The major object of my invention is to provide a lamp which can be satisfactorily used during blackout conditions and which will be simple to manufacture and easy to install. The lamp disclosed and claimed herein has successfully demonstrated its value under blackout conditions and has been found to give adequate light for normal troup movement without the light being visible more than a short distance from its source.

Another advantage of the light which I have developed is that it does not light up the clouds of dust often raised by the movement of vehicles on dusty roads, and for that reason can be used very close to enemy positions without discovery.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a vehicle lamp which projects a spot of variable horizontal when the lamp is, inoperative position as shown. Arear wall l5 and a sidewall, I 6 also ext ndf rwardly nd downward y r m-$ ba at right angles to each other; The forward "wa1ll'3 and the first-mentioned side wall [.4 each flare outwardly as indicated to give an enlarged opening or aperture I! which is disposed in a substantially horizontal plane.

While the hood formed by the walls [3, l4, l5 and I6 may of course vary considerably in size and shape, the lamp I2 must at all times be placed back of the aperture l'l, so that no direct rays of light from the bulb will be visible except from a position directly below the lamp, and all rays reflected from the hood walls at a positive angle to the horizontal will be lost.- In other words, with the lamp mounted so that the aperture I! is substantially horizontal, the bulb and hood are so proportioned and related to each other that all light rays emanating therefrom make a negative angle with the horizontal plane,

i. e. are directed downwardly from the source.

As a consequence, no direct light is visible to anyone not immediately below the lamp, and

when the lamp is mounted relatively close to the ground, as for example behind the bumperof a vehic1e, as illustrated in Fig. 1, it will be impossible for anyone to detect any direct rays from the lamp whatsoever at a distance of more than a very few feet from the lamp, and then only if he lies on the ground.

Referring to Fig. 1, the numeral 20 indicates a portion of the frame of a vehicle to which a bumper 2| is mounted in conventional manner. An angle bracket 22 is attached to the base 10 of the lamp and its other end is attached to the bumper 2| as indicated, thus suspendin the lamp behind and even with the bottom of the bumper so that the light therefrom will be directed onto the road to the left of and slightly forward of the front wheel. Ears 23 may also be provided on the forward edge of forward wall l3 adaptedto' be clamped on the bottom portion of the bumper.

of the lamps can be mountedon the vehicle; and consequently in Fig. l I have only shown one ,of; j the lamps as illustrative of what can be done.

With the lamp mounted in themanner described, it will be apparentthat the light will bedirected a'slightdistance forwardandto the sidezof thev vehicle and will illuminate nits in the road or the center stripe of the highway if there be one.

On the other hand, since all of the rays are directed downwardly at a negative angle to the horizontal, the rays'will not be visible to any- If desired, the'inner faces of the walls of the lamp may bemade reflecting to get the most efllciency out of a given size of bulb, but I have found that even a dull white finish on the inside of the housing is sufficient with an ordinary lamp. Likewise, a protective glass or other transparent plate or lens may be located in the aperture I1 to protect'the interior of the housing from dirt and possible damage from underbrush. In this ,connectionI have found that a much more satisfactory light is produced if a' plate having a graduated density is used adjacent the hood aperture. Experiments have indicated that any sharp definition between the lighted and unlighted portions of the ground is objectionable,

' and that this can be eliminated by using a plate It will be understood, of course, that any number ward the edges thereof.

whoselight transmissive properties decrease to- Such a plate is illustrated in the drawing by the numeral l8, and from Fig. 2 it will be seen that it varies from full transparency at thecenter to near opacity at the one away from the road, and by havingthe total volume of light relatively small, the amount of light reflected from the highway will not be sufficient to be visible at a distance- Care should also be taken of course to mount the lamp so thatno light rays therefrom will strike anypart of' the vehicle and be reflectedtherefrom. p

, The bulbs l2 'are of course connected 'to any convenient source of electric power and the circuit is provided with a rheostat preferably located in the drivers compartment so that he canvary the amount of illumination at will, depending 1 upon driving conditions, As previously mentioned, I have found that with a relatively small bulb, such for example as is ordinarily used in a ,few yards away even though a considerable cloud of dust is raised. Where a number of'trucks are being moved togetherin single file, 'itjis relatively easy for them to keep their proper distance and to see' enough of the road to drive without danger.

' in order to meet'particular problems, without de- From the foregoing, it will be apparent that'I have prcvided'a blackout lamp that is both simple 1? andeconomical to construct and install and one which can beused under the most stringent conditions.- It is to be understood of course that the that various'modifications may be made therein parting from the scopeof my invention as defined in the appendedfclaim;

I claim: J

The combination with a'vehicle having a front bumper of channel-shape arranged with its lateral flanges directed rearwardly, a lamp-housing 'of frusto pyramidal;form having a light transmissive base extending in a horizontal plane and an opposite top-platedirected at a forwardly diverging angle thereto, converging side walls, the

front and rearwallsbeing inclined forwardly at diverging angles, a bracketsecured to said topplate and extending in substantially the same plane for rigid connection with the upper flange @of said. bumper," ears extending from said front wall rigidly connectedto the lower flange of said bumper; and a lamp mounted in said housing adthrough said base.

"ja'cent its'upper end whereby all rays of light issuingfrom'said housing will be cast downwardly HARRY, W. BARNES. 

